DADA Lesson 1 – Years 6 & 7

Rhian raced through the courtyards, corridors, and up the stairs. She'd spent longer than she meant to, writing her latest letter to Conner. It had only been a couple weeks since they'd last seen each other, but after the month he'd lived with her, Mycroft, and Teagan, weeks felt like forever. He assured her that things were going well in the new flat, and with classes, but she knew how much he worried. And she tried to reassure him as best she could, even if it meant being late to her own classes.

Checking her watch as she stopped just outside the door, the Gryffindor cursed inwardly. She was really late. As much as she hated the idea of going in there, so far into the lesson, she knew Jake, and understood that even a partial lesson would be worth it. When her heart settled down enough that she wasn't gasping for breath, she pushed the door open and walked inside.

She set her bag down near the door with the others and stood off to the side, trying to catch on to the lesson. She saw a few of them take turns going up against a spell Jake was using. It took a little bit, but she caught on the which one he was using, and then things started falling into place.

Shit.

Memories of their time with Dementors surfaced, never something she liked to dwell on. Regular spells, she could do. But ones that showed to much of herself...she was more cautious of. When there was a break in volunteers, she moved towards the front to address Jake quietly.

"Hi. I'm so sorry I'm late. I'll do extra work, whatever you need me to do. It won't happen again." And she meant it. Above the urge to attend classes and do well, Rhian always respected Jake, even back when they were both Belladonna's. She wanted to do well in his eyes.

Once that was out of the way, she stepped back to watch a few more. There were some critiques here and there, about the speed with which the students put up their barriers, but Rhian was surprised, on the whole, with how fast they were all doing it. She swallowed hard as she tried to muster the courage for her own turn.

"I'll go," she offered.

Stepping into place, a shot of trepidation ran through her veins. What would he see? What memories would come forward, unbidden? Trying to be proactive, Rhian focused on clearing her mind. Instead of a blank slate, though, memories trickled in. Thoughts of Conner -

The spell hit her hard, her eyes closing as the blackness zoomed forward through pictures, like the movie Conner had taken her to on one of their first dates...

The air was crisp, a February evening. As they walked, arms around each other, she looked up into his face. She'd said something, and the look in his eyes melted her heart. He was speaking then, but she had to focus to remember.

"I want to keep showing you things of my world slowly. Because...you're permanent, I can feel it"

The part of her in the present, with her eyes shut and students tuned out, was relieved. This wasn't that bad, all things considered. But then, it started shifting.

The pitch was warm that day, and they were both sweaty from practice. Well, he was. She could feel the anxiety from this meeting. The way it crept up her throat, threatening to choke her.

"You keep trying, and I'll wait for you" he whispered.

It was the beginning for them.

That still wasn't bad, but not exactly good. Her brow furrowed as she tried to push against the spell. Nothing was happening though. A small part of her had to wonder if she really didn't want it to work. If she wanted these memories, just to be able to see him.

Cold again, the dead of winter. Her knees were numb from kneeling by the graves. "What are you doing here, Conner?"

"Because you asked me to" he answered immediately.

"No," she whispered. This was not a good path. Her jaw clenched as she tried to imagine herself pushing back against the spell. She could almost feel something in her mind, a type of resistance that she was fighting against. But it wouldn't give way.

So much red. Flashes of the prone bodies, on the living room floor at her uncle's house. Elena's blonde hair covering most of her face. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry. But he was there, the man was still there...

"No more!" she spoke firmly. Her fists balled, she was determined to get him out.

And just like that, the spell was gone. Her body lurched forward just a bit, and she stumbled, trying not to fall. Mouth scrunching as she tried to reign in her scattered thoughts, she had to fight the urge to avoid Jake. Looking over to him, her lips pursed, she wondered what would happen now. Had she succeeded? She had no idea, and right now, she couldn't really sort things out in her own mind.

Jake waved the offer away as Rhian entered the room. Honestly, he was simply glad that she was here. She could at least learn. It had, after that, been a short while later that the Gryffindor had stepped forward to give the lesson a go. Jake was quite glad to see the witch attempting it too, because it was always hard to catch up when you'd arrived late.

Waiting for the signal for the witch to be ready, Jake readied himself once more. This was a tiring process, but he wouldn't allow his own fatigue to stop the students from learning. Casting the spell, Jake waited for the moment of memories to begin. There had, unlike most, been a little resistance to the opening of the spell, but it hadn't lasted. Jake could see himself quickly propelling through memories until it latched on to one. Jake wasn't interested in the memories, what he saw was not important. The important part was feeling resistance against the spell, and from Rhian, there was a lot more than others.

Slow, but prominent.

Outwardly the determination to succeed was quite clear, and Jake simply smiled to himself. This, was what the job was about, when it became rewarding like this. Until eventually the student succeeded, much like Rhian did a few moments later. Looking at the confused expression on her lips, Jake simply replied with a growing smile. "Very well done, Rhian. You got the resistance there that was needed! Help yourself to some of the chocolate and you may leave if you so wish." Jake told her, turning once again to the room.

"Nearly done, ladies and gentlemen, who'd like to go next?"

OOC: You have permission to GM Jake casting the spell on your character, delving in to their mind. Your reply should include snippets of memories and your character working to repel Jake. Have fun with the assignment!

Ryan was a little nervous about the fact of anyone being inside his head. Ryan knew the only way to pass this was for him to try this lesson out, so when Jake asked who was next he stepped up to be next. "I'll go sir" he said to Jake. He stood in front of Jake and tried his best to concentrate, he heard Jake perform the spell and it hit Ryan a little too hard, Ryan tried to keep the invisible wall up against his Professor.

"Ryan! Get down here now" Of course it had to be that memory, Ryan kept his life private for a reason so right when he saw that come before his eyes, Ryan tried with all his strength and pushed Jake out of his head completely. Ryan was breathing heavily a little, he wasn't used to this kind of stuff yet but he would be for the future, he just had to.

_________________

Spoiler:

Thank you for the sig Constance

GuestGuest

Subject: Re: DADA Lesson 1 – Years 6 & 7 Fri Sep 26, 2014 2:36 am

"I'll go sir"

Looking to Ryan, Jake nodded, waiting for the boy to be ready before he raised his wand. When he did, Jake was surprised by the first vibrant flash of memory that came to mind. It didn't last long before Jake was pushed away, leaving him stood before the boy who had managed to block him out very quickly.

"Well done, Ryan, that was a very good display. You may leave early." Jake told the Gryffindor, quite surprised at how seemingly easy that had been. "Now only a few left, who's next?" The professor asked looking for the next volunteer.

OOC: You have permission to GM Jake casting the spell on your character, delving in to their mind. Your reply should include snippets of memories and your character working to repel Jake. Have fun with the assignment!

"I'll go," Cassidy stepped forward when Jake asked for the next volunteer. She felt confident enough that she could do it, use occlumency. And she didn't have anything to hide. Besides, she'd rather learn how to do it than to be faced with a dangerous situation outside of school where she was helpless against it.

She readied herself as Jake cast the spell, and it hit harder than she thought it would hit. And it did shock her a bit, and she felt a strange sensation wash over her as her memories seemed to be pulled forward. Snippets of her life seemed to flash before her eyes, some funny, some sad, and some downright embarrassing.

The first was a scene in her house, looking down at a letter of yellow parchment, and green ink. Turning it over in her hand revealed the Hogwarts wax seal. She had been such an excited and bubbly eleven-year-old, and clearly not much had changed. She ran eagerly to show her parents, but then the memory began to fade, as she began to try and push Jake out of her head, though it proved more difficult than she thought.

The next was a much darker memory, and had contrasted so much with the bumbling elation of her eleven year old self. It was of that dreadful quidditch match she had endured. The one where her best friend had died, and it was painful, and vivid. Thankfully those memories didn't last too long, she was desperate to push them back into the dark and dingy corners of her mind, where all the bad things resided, rarely woken.

She pushed again, harder, but the memories morphed into another, that had been far more recent. She was in the clock tower, holding on to rolls of parchment, jumping as a voice whispered in her ear, catching her by surprise. She felt his lips on her neck, gentle and sweet.

"I chose a place to give us privacy." the Josh had drawled as he moved his hand around her waist.

It was that moment that with all her force, she pushed Jake out of her mind completely. Her fair skin flushed red, eyes widening as she realised just exactly what her teacher had seen, and potentially how much he could have seen. She felt a mixture of vulnerability and awkwardness as she hastily picked up her bag "Good lesson Jake," she said with an uneasy smile "See you," she hastened out of the classroom quickly, wrecked with embarrassment at what Jake had seen.

As Cassidy stepped forward, Jake smiled towards her, reassuringly he hoped. The red head took a moment to set herself and Jake performed the spell, watching as the memories flashed first to the moment the witch had received her Hogwarts letter. A nice memory, Jake thought as the witch pushed him away, though not fully.

The next memory was one Jake knew and he closed his eyes momentarily as he saw such familiar images. Images he himself had worked hard to repress because he had work to do. But once more Cassidy pushed him away, almost pushing him out of her head until one final memory pushed to the forefront of the witch's mind.

A blonde Jake knew from his classes stood just behind the witch. Mentioning about privacy. Jake didn't wish to see this, and hoped Cassidy pushed him away. Right on cue the witch did, and when Jake opened his mouth to tell her well done on the achievement, he received praise for the lesson before the witch was running away from the lesson.

Closing his mouth momentarily, Jake looked to the two students left. "So which one of you would like to go next?" Jake asked softly, looking between the Head Boy and Lucy expectantly.

OOC: You have permission to GM Jake casting the spell on your character, delving in to their mind. Your reply should include snippets of memories and your character working to repel Jake. Have fun with the assignment!

Lucy stepped forward after the red-headed Gryffindor hurried out of class in a haste "Ready," she stated. She braced herself as Jake cast the spell, and it hit, forcing itself into her mind, and immediately strained to push him back out. She saw all different flashings of different moments in her life, seeming to be bought forward and shuffled about.

The first clear memory that came to her was an epic display of underage magic. When she was younger, and angry. Really, really angry. At what, she couldn't quite recall, probably some childish thing that didn't exactly matter. But she was fuming. It was then that the shutters to her blinds snapped open. Then shut. The open again. And soon the motion was repeating rapidly. And then the door slammed. And opened and slammed again. Bits and pieces of things began to whirl around the room quickly, rattling against the walls. When Lucy looked around the room, anger fizzled into fear. And suddenly it stopped. Objects dropped with a clatter. As her parents rushed upstairs to see what the fuss was, it faded...

It faded to a happier, less stressful memory of of Lucy in the forbidden forest, with Shawn. Just walking and talking, giggling and having fun. It was peaceful, and sweet, all warm and fuzzy. But it turned quickly to a haze, shutting off completely as she managed to push Jake completely out of her head.

She felt a strange tiredness from the effort, but was proud of herself, nonetheless.

Lucy stepped forward next, and Jake went through the motions of allowing the student time to get themselves ready. Merlin knew that all of this was so very daunting. Lifting his wand, Jake cast the spell, delving in to the Slytherin's mind not a moment later. Blurs of images rushed past until it chose one, the first time Lucy had managed magic.

It was something quite spectacular, though he knew at the time she probably hadn't been overly aware of what was happening. But the memory soon got repressed, instead flitting to something lighter, happier. Jake noted a Hufflepuff he'd seen in passing, Shawn perhaps, with the witch in question.

But that only lasted a short time, before Jake was pushed out of her head, leaving him feeling very drained. "Very well done, Lucy! Collect a chocolate wand and you may leave!" Jake told the witch after a moment, giving her a thumbs up for completing the spell before turning his attention to the last boy in the room.

"Come on, Josh, your go." Jake told the Head Boy, waving him forward.

OOC: You have permission to GM Jake casting the spell on your character, delving in to their mind. Your reply should include snippets of memories and your character working to repel Jake. Have fun with the assignment!

GuestGuest

Subject: Re: DADA Lesson 1 – Years 6 & 7 Sun Sep 28, 2014 10:06 am

Josh had stood back for the whole time people had given the spell a go. There were many and more reactions, and it seemed for the most part the professor was proud of the achievements. Josh didn't see why, most of them took a while. He'd stayed back simply because he'd hoped they'd run out of time. Josh wasn't scared of trying, he just didn't wish to have the oaf of a professor in his head. But, it seemed luck would not be on his side as he was called forward to give the spell a go.

Moving to stand in front of Professor Newbury, Josh readied himself, wand in hand for the onslaught. With his eyes closed, he waited for the spell to hit him. And it did, Josh could feel himself taking half a step back as the spell hit, wondering where this would be going.

Christmas time, Josh was five years old, dressed in a suit and sat at the long dining table. Alone. His family were not here because they'd been arguing all morning and had decided that they would not be coming for Christmas dinner. The small blonde boy sat in his chair eating his Christmas dinner to the sound of shouting and screaming ringing through the house. His mother ripping his father to pieces. An ordinary day, to Josh at that age as everyone forgot he'd existed.

The time skipped again, Josh stood in the changing room at the local polo club, watching a small boy writhe on the floor but with no explanation of the cause. A short skip later showed the boy atop a pony, holding the Player of the Year trophy. He didn't look pleased like most children would, in fact his eyes were very dark with the distaste of winning the trophy. Because he hadn't won, he'd bullied the others in to giving it to him.

The image of his parents finally getting the divorce they'd been going through for years came to mind. His younger self had believed that would be the end of the fighting, but another flash later showed that it hadn't stopped. Eleanor was forever trying to get one over on her ex-husband. Fighting over where Josh would stay. Neither wanted him unless it was convenient.

Another skip. Another image. Josh watched the Herbology professor moving with her plants, treating them tenderly, as if they had feelings. He'd frozen as he watcher her, trying to understand how someone could be so caring...

The Room of Requirement where the boy had made a small shrine to the same witch appeared a moment later. The images flickering fast. Newspaper clippings, stolen photos, locks of hair.

Fire... Lots of fire. Back at the manor house where his azalea patch had been. Smouldering in the heat of the fire that Josh had made because she wasn't his. She'd never appreciate him how he appreciated her. The gifts he'd brought her, some knowingly, some unknowingly.

Dancing with her at the Pureblood Ball...

The time in Herbology where he'd been right up against her, inhaling the scent that had been so alluring yet he could not place it.

Then finally the moment he'd taken her to the art gallery he'd made. For her. The way she'd looked that evening in such finery. The way the witch had followed him around the gallery, complimented his pieces, made him feel like she'd cared. She had cared, he'd told himself at the time. Until that room. The memory was thick and fast of how the witch had seen the room he'd dedicated to her. How he'd turned to see her reaction, only to have every feeling he'd made for her crushed in a single moment. The way she'd looked terrified. Ran.

Fire broke the forefront of the memory.

Blazing and taking with it every memory that had come to the surface.

A face came out of the surface of the fire though, formulating in to something Josh would never admit to being more painful.

Louise Grey...

"NO!" Josh shouted, pushing the professor out after such a huge fight for control. His hands hit something solid a moment later, scratching them as he gasped for breath. For control. There was something wet on the boy's face, but he refused to acknowledge it. "No..." Josh whispered, control flowing back around him as his hands turned in to fists. After a few moments, Josh lifted himself from the ground, turned on his heel and collected his bag. Shouldering it, he walked straight from the room. Not acknowledging the professor, nor giving any form of a goodbye.

He just needed... to get away.

GuestGuest

Subject: Re: DADA Lesson 1 – Years 6 & 7 Sun Sep 28, 2014 2:24 pm

As the Head Boy stepped forward, Jake readied himself for the last time. He was quite glad, if he was honest, that this would be the last one, because this really was making him so very tired. With the slight pause for the Slytherin to get ready, Jake cast the spell.

Perhaps he'd been naïve in the notion of the effect his ex-girlfriend had on other people, but the images that flashed through his mind so very quickly were enough to make Jake feel kind of sick. The witch had left his life, and he'd dealt with that, but seeing her mean... this much to someone else in and around the same time was not something Jake had expected. There was some effort to repress him, but Jake saw everything.

When the Head Boy fell forwards, Jake bent double, glad the boy had pushed him out when he had. His own breathing was heavy, hearing only the shouted 'no'. Jake had just about regained himself when he heard the boy leave. "Well done, Josh..." Jake told the empty room in nothing more than a whisper, moving to his desk. The professor sat in his desk with a big sigh, putting his hands in his head and letting out a soft sigh. That... was quite something. Deciding not to let such thoughts consume him, Jake closed his drawers, locked them and quickly exited the room, deciding to get as far away from the room as possible, as quickly as possible.